Golf club



Nov. 8 1927.

yv. J. HADDEN GOLF CLUB Filed May 12. 1927 Patented Nov. 8, 1927.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM J HADDEN, OF GLASGOW, SCOTLAND, ASSIGNOR TO DONALDSON MANU- FACTURING COMPANY LIMITED, OF GLASGOW, SCOTLAND.

GOLF CLUB.

Application filed May 12, 1927, Serial No. 190,741, and in Great Britain August 16, 1926.

This invention relates to golf clubs of the kind having tubular steel shafts.

The object of the invention is to present to the user several advantages not possessed by the existing type of golf club, firstly, with relation to the thickness of grip, and secondly, with relation to the length of shaft, these two factors being intimately co-related as determining factors in the balancin of the club, such balancing being again re ated to the physical attributes of the user, and varying considerably in each individual case.

These advantages are equally important to the manufacturer, since, as will be subsequently shown, the substitution of one thickness of grip for another, and also the length: ening or shortening of the shaft can be readily accomplished by the user himself, without the aid of skilled labour.

At present a complete range of each kind of club has to be made and kept in stock so as to suit the different physical capacities and proportions, the different styles, and the different ideas of the numerous army of golfers. As a consequence, many clubs are made with long and short shafts and with different grips, thereby entailing heavy manufacturing costs as well as the upkeep of large stocks.

The present invention overcomes these drawbacks and provides a form of grip capable of being made in various thicknesses, so that a grip of any thickness thought suitable can be selected, and thereafter readily applied to a club shaft and be adjustably secured thereon. Further, when adjusted in position, the grip can be securely clamped and held both against angular and longitudinal movement.

It will be obvious that a player can selecta grip, have it applied to the club shaft, and, .then, after adjusting and testing it to suit the balance of the club, can securely fasten it in position.

The grip consists of a hollow metallic sleeve (covered with leather, rubber or other gripping material) which is capable of fitting, telescopewise, on the end of the club shaft. At its upper end the sleeve is provided with screw means for attaching it securely to the shaft in such manner as to give a screw adjustment while preventing longitudinal movement after adjustment, and, at its lower end, it is split and is provided with ferrule and screw clamping means for tightening and holding it on the shaft, and further, it is provided with means which, while permitting the sleeve to be slid longitudinally on the shaft, prevents it turning angularly thereon.

In the drawing Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view.

Fig. 2 is a section on line II-II in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view on line IIIIII in Fig. 1. s

In the drawing the grip is shown applied to a steel shaft 1.

The grip consists of a steel sleeve 2 which is made a sliding fit on the end of the steel shaft and has the usual leather or fabric strip 3 for the hands wound upon it and secured in the customary way. At the end to be located nearer the head, the sleeve is split by four longitudinal slits 4 and, when in position on the shaft, a ferrule or collar 5 having a conical internal portion is slipped over the slits andscrewed up on a left hand thread on the sleeve, thus reducing the circumference of the sleeve and clamping it tightly to the shaft. If desired there may be an additional short sleeve (not shown) which is clamped to the shaft and the main sleeve may be fitted thereon or thereover and clamped in its turn, a double clamping being thus obtained.

The end of the shaft is closed by a plug 6 having an axial screw threaded hole 7 in it, and the upper end of the sleeve is also closed by a milled head 8 on a long screw 9 which screws into the plug of the shaft so as to hold the grip truly in position. The plug is fixed in the-shaft by the grub screws 13.

Preferably a wedge-shaped piece 10 is provided between the sleeve 2 and the covering 3 to form a bulge at the upper end of the club.

It is obvious that by turning the screw 9 the sleeve can be adjusted in position and, after being clamped, the screw can be tightened positively to prevent any longitudinal movement of the sleeve on the shaft.

To prevent positively any turning of the grip on the shaft, the shaft is provided with one or more longitudinal external grooves or channels as 11 and the sleeve has corresponding internal ribs or projections 12 so that when sliding the grip on to the shaft the rib or ribs is or are engaged with the groove or grooves. Alternatively, the rib or ribs may be on the shaft and the groove or grooves in the sleeve. The simplest way is as shown to make longitudlnal depressions or channels externally on both the sleeve and the shaft, the external longitudinal depressions in the thin sleeve forming internal ribs adapted to engage and slide in the channels of the shaft.

The grip, when fitted, is secured to the shaft at both its ends in a way which allows it to be readily loosened if not exactly suited to the desire of the player and moved along the shaft within limits or replaced by a different and more suitable grip similarly attached to the shaft, so that the trouble of loosening the binding strip, altering the length of the shaft by cutting it and replacing the binding is obviated.

1. A grip for golf clubs having steel shafts, comprising, a sleeve adapted to be slidably adjusted on the shaft, screw means at one end of said sleeve for adjusting the sleeve longitudinally of the shaftand means for clamping the other end of said sleeve on the shaft.

2. A grip for golf clubs having steel shafts, comprising, a sleeve adapted to be slidably adjusted on the shaft, means for clamping one end of said sleeve on the shaft and a screw atthe opposite end for attaching said sleeve to the shaft, said screw providing a longitudinalscrew adjustment of the sleeve on the shaft and acting to prevent longitudinal movement after adjustment.

3; A grip for golf clubs having steel shafts, comprising, a sleeve adapted to be slidably adjusted on the shaft, means for clamping one end of said sleeve on the shaft, a screw at the opposite end for attaching said sleeve to the shaft, said screw providmg a screw adjustment and acting to prevent longitudinal movement after adjustment, and a plug adaptedto be fixed in the -end of said shafts and having a screw threaded hole for said screw.

4:. A gr'p for golf clubs having steel shafts, comprising, a sleeve adapted to be slidably adjusted on the shaft, means for preventing said sleeve turning on the shaft, means for clamping one end of said sleeve on the shaft, ascrew at the opposite end for attaching said sleeve to the shaft, saidscrew providing a screw adjustment and acting to prevent ongitudinal movement after adjustment, and a plug adapted to be fixed in the end of said shaft and having a screw threaded hole for said screw.

5. A grip for golf clubs having steel shafts, comprising, a metal sleeve adapted to be slidably adjusted on the shaft, a covering of gripping material on the sleeve, means for adjusting said sleeve longitudinally of said shaft and means for securing said sleeve to the shaft in any adjusted position.

6. A grip for golf clubs having steel shafts, comprising, a sleeve adapted to be slidably adjusted on the shaft, a covering of gripping material on said sleeve, screw means for adjusting said sleeve longitudinally of said shaft and clamping means for securing said sleeve to the shaft.

7. A grip for golf clubs having steel shafts, comprising, a sleeve adapted to be slidably adjusted on the shaft, screw means for clamping one end of said sleeve on the shaft and screw means at the other end of said sleeve for adjusting it longitudinally of said shaft.

.8. Interchangeable grips for the shafts of golf clubs each comprising a hollow metal sleeve split at the one end thereof, screw means for adjusting the sleeve longitudinally in position onthe shaft and a screw clamp for clamping the split end tightly on the shaft.

9. Interchangeable grips for the shafts of golf clubsveach comprising a hollow metal sleeve, split at the one end thereof, screw means for adjusting the sleeve longitudinally in position on the shaft and a screw clamp for clamping the split end tightly on the shaft, the several parts of the grip being capable of being assembled and dismembered as required.

10. Interchangeable grips for the shafts of golf clubs each comprising a hollow metal sleeve, split at the one end thereof, a plug In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WILLIAM JAMES HADDEN. 

